Rico Velasquez
"What the fuck's a Shakespeare?" -Rico Sergeant Ricardo Velasquez is an ISA soldier and friend of Jan Templar. He appears in all four games. Overview Rico is a human tank who prefers to shoot first and ask questions later, if at all. He's all attitude, and swears like a true trooper. Rico prefers an up-front fight ('mano a mano') and is a character of extremes: he can get agitated very quickly and doesn't hold back on anything. During the space defense crisis, Rico was left stranded by a brutal Helghast attack and subsequently befriended Templar, Luger and Hakha. He continued to help defend Vekta over the coming months. During the invasion of Helghan, Rico led Alpha Squad and managed to reach Visari Palace. He kills Scolar Visari shortly after. Biography Early Life Ricardo Velasquez (a.k.a. Rico) was born on November 1, 2329 on Vekta. He was the oldest of nine siblings and lived in the poor industrial south side of the Vekta city slums. He was a natural born fighter and would usually get into fights with his brothers. His parents operated a restaurant in Vekta City, and were renowned throughout Northern Vekta for their excellent 'Arroz con Gandules' dishes. Rico spent the better part of his teenage years in the kitchen, where he worked hard to help the family restaurant establish a name for itself. When business became profitable enough to hire a full time staff, Rico left in search of a new challenge. After a few months of aimless wandering and even drifting into petty crime, he decided to join the ISA army at the age of 18. Even during training, Rico's phenomenal strength and willingness to fight set him apart from other ISA Regulars. Upon graduation he was promoted to sergeant, and assigned to an all-rookie platoon codenamed H-company. Killzone In 2357, the Helghast invaded Vekta and stormed several beachheads along the planet. Rico's team was defending a park near the Vekta City tram station when they were told that General Bradley Vaughton had been captured in a building nearby. They then came under fire from the 17th Helghast Tank Division, and were literally blown to pieces. As the only survivor, Rico flew into a berzerk rage and single-handedly killed the entire division. He was aided by two soldiers who then introduced themselves as Captain Jan Templar and Shadow Marshal Luger. Rico tells them about Vaughton, and the three of them storm the building and rescue the general, who offers Rico the chance to help Templar and Luger rescue a spy in the slums known as Colonel Gregor Hakha. Rico gladly accepts the chance to hurt the Helghast. After pushing through the slums, they enter a mall to find several executed ISA soldiers. One surviving soldier tells them that Hakha was taken to a small building near by and the Helghast are waiting for them. The soldier then dies. After killing the Helghast trying to trap them, the team reaches Hakha. To their shock and horror, he is half-Helghast, half-human. Rico tries to execute him, but is stopped by Templar. Rico distrusts Hakha but is ignored by the others. The team heads for the dock to get to the fortress so that Hakha can escape the planet with the vital information he has heard. Hakha tells them that he needs to access the ISA mainframe to extract information that he had previously guessed. Rico believes that he is trying to hack into the mainframe to disrupt the ISA, and so he pulls a gun on him. Luger defends Hakha, but before the three can kill each other, Templar intervenes and orders them to work together, giving Hakha 3 minutes to search the mainframe. He discovers that General Stuart Adams has betrayed the ISA and has taken over the SD weapons platform above the planet. A beam of light is suddenly fired from space and destroys the ISA fortress in the swamps (where Hakha was supposed to escape from). The team take two boats to head for the fortress to get to an uplink that would take them up to the platform to prevent Adams from destroying the approching fleet from Earth. They are shot at with Helghast rockets and crash near the swamps. They discover a code 3-3 fire base and Templar wishes to go around it but Hakha agrees with Rico in that they should go straight through it and deny the enemy a stagging point for further attacks. After destroying the fire base they arrive at the destroyed fortress to find an ISA soldier ordering them to surrender. He tells them that General Adams told them that Vaughton tried to take control of the weapons platform but was executed, and that the team were also collaborators. The soldier is disarmed by Luger and runs off. Templar decides that Adams has to be stopped before he destroys the Earth fleet that would soon arrive. Hakha intercepts a radio message saying that Adams is at a Helghast base nearby. They storm the base and realise it was a failed trap to kill them. Rico gets angry again and threatens Hakha for leading them into this. Hakha claims that he was meant to hear the message. Rico stands down after being ordered by Templar. They then decide to head for a station that holds another uplink to the platform in the mountains. Rico is talking to himself when the team suddenly spot a Helghast patrol. They destroy the patrol and blow up a bridge that provides a major crossing point for the Helghast forces. They then attack a base that cuts off several supplies to the enemy. At the base, they notice an outpost where they might be able to find transport to the uplink. They arrive and are attacked by Helghast forces led by General Joseph Lente. The team manage to defeat Lente, who is executed by Hakha after hearing about what happened to his brother. The team takes Lente's shuttle to the mountains, near the uplink. there, Rico asks Hakha what is it between Templar and Luger, who accurately guesses their relationship. The team moves out and reaches the uplink. Luger pilots the transport to the platform. As they arrive, they see the Earth fleet approach Vekta. The platform fires on the fleet and destroys one of the ships. Luger orders the rest of the team to complete different tasks, such as communicating with the Earth fleet to tell them to stop firing at the platform until they can escape. Rico clears the platform of Helghast troops to help the others. He is briefly captured, but escapes and meets up with Luger and Hakha as they rescue Templar from Adams' trap. Rico helps hold off the remaining Helghast as Templar severally wounds Adams (who dies later). As the fleet begins to bombard the platform again, the team get to the shuttle. Hakha tries to disconnect the fuel line from the shuttle, but is trapped when it falls. Rico holds off the remaining Helghast and pulls Hakha out. They escape onto the shuttle just as the platform is destroyed. Hakha then gives Rico some morphine for a wound and thanks him for saving his life. Thanks to Rico and the team, the initial Helghast invasion is prevented. Killzone: Liberation For helping resolve the space defence platform crisis, Rico was awarded the Silver Sun medal. In addition, General Dwight Stratson personally requested him to lead a new type of ISA strike force known as the Hellhounds, better suited to Rico's bold tactical approach. Rico agreed, on the condition that the strike force consist exclusevely of experienced soldiers. H-company's tragic demise was still fresh in his mind, and he couln't bear the thought of losing another platoon. Over the next month, Rico and the Hellhounds managed to defend Southern Vekta from the remaining Helghast who were continuing to push forward. Under the leadership of a new leader, General Armin Metrac, the Helghast began taking more ground, and eventually, had most of Southern Vekta under their control. He remained friends with Templar, who fought alongside him at times, although he never saw the secretive Luger, or Hakha who was now retired. In October, Rico was assigned to Rayhoven base when the Helghast attacked. Rico holds out on the frontlines in a shelled out house but is quickly overwhelmed. Templar arrives and tells him that the base is being evacuated. A helghast soldier snipes Rico from a distance and wounds him, but is almost immediately healed by Templar. Together the two push back to the base until an automatic door seals Rico in the trenches. He decides to find another way around, but is caught up in the fighting. He commandeers a boat and is told by Luger via radio to wait for Templar to drop down from the weapons cache cliff. Templar slides down a rope after blowing up the cache, and Rico drives the boat out of the base. It is then that Command informs them that a dropship containing the ISA VIP's from Rayhoven, General Stratson, Defence Minister Heff Milcher, and scientist Evelyn Batton, was shot down in the Reag swamplands. Templar is assigned to search and rescue them before Metrac does. Rico drops him off at a refinery near the Magus Harboar to find a hovercraft to go through the swamps. Rico gets to the harbor by a different entrance and meets up with Templar there. Rico is told by Luger via radio to meet up with a team of soldiers at a warehouse to try and capture Metrac, who is there. Rico and Templar head for the warehouse and Rico goes in with the team to get Metrac. Unfortunately, most of the team is killed by Metrc's guards, and Rico is forced to flee into the jungle. Rico follows Metrac into the swamps and rescues Templar from a squad of Helghast. The two move further on and discover the downed dropship. The VIP's are missing but the pilot is alive. Rico goes to find medical supplies, but is captured by Helghast. He meets General Stratson , who tells him secretely, that he is pretending to be an informer for the Helghast. He asks Rico to be a double agent and pretend to be aligned with the Helghast, to learn of their plans. He is taken to Metrac's hidden mountain base. There Metrac fails in trying to turn Rico to his side. Rico sees Evelyn being tortured for the launch codes to nuclear weapons that the Helghast have captured. Rico learns that Templar managed to rescue Stratson but Milcher was killed. He is also told that the ISA plan on bombing the base and so Metrac prepares to leave with Rico on a dropship. Templar arrives and Metrac stays behind to fight him. Rico is taken to a base outside Sedah city, were he witnesses General Mandrake getting killed by the Helghast. He escapes down a sewer with them as he notices Templar chasing after him. Rico is thrown into a cell were he sees the Rayhoven nukes. Stratson arrives and reveals that he was in league with Metrac and he has been assassinating key ISA leaders so that he could be in command of Southern Vekta. Rico realises that he was set up to look like the traitor. Stratson leaves to go to the now besieged Sedah city up above, and leaves Rico in the cell. Templar kills the guards and opens the cell. Rico is glad to see him but is attacked and a gun is pointed to him. Rico explains that Stratson was the traitor and that he set him up. He also shows him the nukes that are to be given to the Helghast. Templar and Rico head up to Sedah city. They seal up the sewer entrances and hold off the Helghast assault. ISA soldiers arrive to reinforce the city and Templar leaves to stop Stratson. Rico wishes him well, and stays to hold off the remaining Helghast. After defeating the last of the Helghast and heads to the city palace with Evelyn (who was rescued earlier by Templar). They arrive to find Stratson being arrested. Rico states that after all of this they end up fighting their own, again. Templar then says that they should try and invade Helghan this time and put an end to the war. The formation of Alpha Squad Many months later, in January, 2358, the Helghast begin retreating from Vekta. Rico and the Hellhounds are assigned to attack a Helghast cruiser that holds vital ISA information. They discover that the Helghast are about to launch one final attack on Vekta. The decisive battle for Vekta is fought on the Northern Plains. After their defeat, the Helghast retreat Vekta, with the nuclear weapon Red Dust in their hands (although without the launch codes). Rico was decorated and distinguished for his bravery and deadly combat skills. However, the same anger that made him so deadly to the Helghast destroyed his ability to serve quietly within the ranks again. Worse, his direct experience of betrayal by treasonous Generals Stratson and Adams, made him distrustful of the officer class in general. Rico proved insubordinate and aggressive during attempts to reintegrate him into the ISA Regular Army. After the dust settled, and the invasion was over, Templar was promoted to Colonel, and made the commander of the fleet that would invade Helghan once plans were drawn up. He began forming up new special forces squads. His first choice for team leader was Rico, now promoted to Master-Sergeant, to lead Alpha Squad. When made the offer of his own team command, serving under the only officer he still trusted and respected, it was a simple choice for the veteran. Rico and Templar began the selection of the remaining members of Alpha team immediately - a process that did not run according to plan. Rico pick for second-in-command, Shawn Natko, an experienced soldier with an excellent combat record turned down the promotion, electing to join the team instead as his current rank in the number three slot. Templar's choice of replacement, along with the team's fourth member perished in a grenade training accident, and Alpha was pulled out of training to reform. To replace the dead second-in-command, Templar proposed a young Sergeant who had impressed him with his skill and determination - Sergeant First Class Tomas Sevchenko. An army lifer, Rico initially distrusted first timer Sev, but put his trust in Templar's instinct. The fourth member was suggested by Sev as his old friend Dante Garza. Dysfunctional and sarcastic, it took some fast talking from Sev to sell the idea to Rico and Templar, but Garza proved himself in training and earned at least the benefit of the doubt. With Alpha squad formed up, they began training in preparation for the invasion of Helghan, and continued to fight the Helghast in other areas of war. By 2359, a fleet was prepared, led by Colonel Templar, and would head for Helghan to capture Visari and reclaim the stolen nukes. In 2360, the fleet moved out. Killzone 2 Assault on Pyrrhus Before setting out for Helghan, Templar wishes Rico and Sev well and says that he wants them to get the mission done as he will be off the field. After two weeks, the fleet arrives on Helghan. The first wave of the invasion is virtually destroyed, and so Templar orders a second wave, led by Captain Jason Narville to assault the Helghan capital, Pyrrhus, to capture Visari. Narville and Avenger Company get pinned down in Visari Square and request for assistance. Alpha Squad are assigned with the mission of escorting Punisher Convoy through the city outskirts to reinforce Narville. Just before setting out from the flagship, New Sun, Evelyn Batton, who is the fleet scientist, warns Rico about using a code of behaviour and to be careful with capturing Visari. Rico says that he doesnt care what happens with Visari but Evelyn says that future generations of Vekta and Helghan will look back on this day and Rico must try and put an end to the Helghast hatred. As Alpha are preparing to leave, Templar wishes Rico well one last time in spearheading the assault. The team head for the outskirts of the city on the Corinth River with an ISA Intruder, which crashes from anti-air fire. The team catch up with the convoy and while Sev and Garza cover them from the sides on balconies or rooftops, Rico and Natko push through with the convoy. They get heavily pinned down near the Korovis Dam and are saved by an air strike from the New Sun. As the convoy moves on, Alpha are told to go assist Narville immedietally. They arrive on another Intruder and witness the Arc Tower causing havoc on the ISA Intruders. They land and Alpha split up again, Rico and Natko stay with Narville while Sev and Garza try and knock out the Arc Tower. While fighting for the square, Rico and Natko are told about a downed Intruder nearby with survivors. They ask for Sev's assistance (who had successfully destroyed the Arc Tower) via radio, and find the survivors dead with Helghast soldiers waiting for them. They are quickly killed but are attacked by several more waves of soldiers as Sev arrives. The team escapes when Garza comes with a couple of soldiers to hold them off. The team finds themselves flanking the Helghast at Visari square, and after holding off more waves, manage to secure the area. The convoy push through to the main bridge over the Corinth river. As they begin crossing the bridge, Colonel Mael Radec brings in his troops and destroys the bridge with heavy artillery, thereby blocking the convoy's passage further into the city. Sev becomes separated from the bridges destruction and Rico sends Garza to find him while the rest of the convoy head for the Salamun Bridge. As they push through the Helghast defences, they are pinned down by Helghast mortars, and Sev and Garza destroy them. Sev and Garza arrive near the bridge and destroy a power station nearby that has Helghast troops firing on them. After a long firefight, the convoy reach the other side of the bridge. Narville tells Alpha squad that Colonel Radec is inside the Radec Academy and sends them to try and capture him. They go inside and realise it was a trap and barely manage to defeat all of the Helghast. As they head for the Palace, several Arc Pillars appear in front of them (as well other parts of the city) and releases an electrical field that prevents them from getting any closer. Evelyn mentions that it is due to the material known as Petrusite which is what makes the Arc weapons and powers them up. Templar orders Alpha squad to go with Evelyn to investigate the energy source powering them in the wastelands south of Pyrrhus. Search in the Wastelands In the wastelands, Alpha and Evelyn reach a communication outpost, where an ISA scout team tried to set up a communication link to the New Sun but stopped halfway through the job. Rico and Sev head out to look for the scout team and find out why they never finished setting up the link. They are told by Evelyn that they need to activate an antenna nearby to set up the link. Rico and Sev find a path to it but the door is locked. They go to look for the controls and discover the dead bodies of the tortured scout team, which causes Rico to go into a fury. They kill the Helghast who try to trap them and find the controls to the door and push through. They manage to activate the antenna and Evelyn finds hundreds of smaller petrusite readings, and then Rico and Sev lose contact with her. They head back and are told by Evelyn on the radio that they are being attacked. They head back to find the team captured by Helghast. Rico and Sev follow them to an undergroung railway system. They see them being loaded onto a train and being taken away. They hop on the next train and give chase. Rico and Sev fight through and take control of the train. It stops at Tharsis Refinery. The two get off and split up to infiltrate the refinery and find the rest of the team. Rico makes it to the control room and monitors Sev's progress and guides him to his location. Rico discovers the schematics for the Petrusite distribution system and notices that there is a central grid somewhere in the wastelands. Rico, now with Sev, head in deeper and find their friends being interrogated by Colonel Radec and his bodyguards. He is asking Evelyn about the nuclear codes and Evelyn states that only Templar has access to them. Sev tells Rico that he will flank them and try and think of a way to kill them without hitting one of their own. As Radec is about to execute the team, Rico decides to burst in with guns blazing. Radec and his guards escape as they mortally wound Garza in the confusion. The team head up to an aerial dock and while Rico and Natko hold off several Helghast soldiers, Sev and Evelyn locate a transmitter and call for ISA reinforcements. As the ISA soldiers rescue them on an Intruder, Garza succums to his wounds and dies, much to Sev's despair. The Battle For Helghan The team return to the New Sun, where Templar is looking for a way to destroy the Petrusite grid. Sev mourns Garza's death and as Rico tries to comfort him, Sev venemously shouts at him. Just then, the remainder of the Helghast fleet attack the ISA fleet. Rico tries to hold off the invaders but it is too late, as the ISA begin trying to evacuate the ship. Rico reunites with Sev and Natko, and they escape on the last Intruder. Just before leaving, Sev witnesses Radec shooting Templar and Evelyn and downloading the code data for the nukes. Rico is in despair as Sev tells him and tries to get back to Jan, but is stopped by Natko. As they fly away on the Intruder, they witness the New Sun crashing into the Petrusite grid and destroying it, as part of Templar's last act. They land near the New Sun's crash site in the Maelstra Barrens and are contacted by Captain Narville, who tells them to secure the crash site and await further orders. On the way the encounter a survivor named Richards, along with an Exo-Skeleton weapon suit that Sev commandeers. As they move along, Private Richards begins to complain about how the ISA screwed up the invasion and begins to insult Templar and his sacrifice. Rico, considering this the last straw, beats Richards to near death, until being stopped by Natko. They move on to the crash site to find the Helghast looting for weapons and equipment. Rico and Natko pick up a buggy and help push through the crash site. They rendezvous with Narville's company and take out a Helghast refinery. Narville thanks them and prepares for a final push on the palace now that the Petrusite defences are down. Suddenly an explosion is seen off in the distance. Visari had just fired Red Dust on the capital city to drive out the ISA, killing most of the ISA and Helghast troops. The remaining soldiers in the convoy watch in awe, and discover that Radec has ordered most of him troops to finish off the survivors. Natko nearly decides to give up, but Sev and Rico decides to make a last assault on Visari Palace to capture the Autarch. Narville agrees and they begin an attack on the palace. Alpha squad help destroy the massive Arc Battery so that the remainder of the ISA fleet can give some support. The convoy pushes through and defeat the Helghast invaders. Rico and Sev head into the palace to capture Visari while the others defend the courtyard in preparation of the counter attack from Radec's troops. They meet Radec, who throws all of his remaining soldiers at the two. Rico and Sev manage to kill all of them, and so Radec tries to kill them himself, but is defeated by Sev. Radec kills himself and Rico spits on his body for Templar. Rico and Sev enter Visari's main chambers, and prepare to arrest Visari. He claims that they have not won and even if he was to be captured, he would be made a martyr by the Helghast people, who would never give up and fight to the death and even plunge into chaos without his direction. Rico believes he has had enough, and so he shoots Visari, to Sev's surprise and horror. Rico stands over Visari's body (who's last words were the madness begins) in thought as Natko and Narville enter wondering what happened, and while Sev leaves. At that time, the Helghast fleet, once thought to be destroyed, arrives to finish off the ISA. Characteristics Rico, born in the slums of Vekta city, is the biggest, toughest, most Helghast-hating character in the entire series. He has a penchant for almost constant swearing. Surviving an attack that slaughtered the entirety of his platoon, his hatred for the Helghast is understandable. To some, it might seem that the event even brought him slightly over the line into insanity. He still harbors deep resentment towards the Helghast for the loss of his original squad. It is not certain how much Helghast blood will be required to slake his thirst for vengeance - his answer to that question is always some variation of more. While Rico is not the dimwitted oaf that some take him for, he does harbor a rather simplistic, black-and-white worldview. To Rico, there isn't a problem that can't be solved with good old-fashioned violence. If that problem happens to take the shape of an evil invasion army bent on conquering the whole planet - well, it just means the good guys will have to use a little more violence. Indirect approaches like espionage, sabotage and assassination are too time consuming for his tastes. Not everyone finds Rico's aggressive, impatient demeanor easy to get along with, but those who try are often surprised to find that there is a softer side beneath his gruff exterior. Rico is fierceley loyal to people who treat him with respect, and won't tolerate anyone threatening them. This loyalty can even extend to someone who might otherwise clash with his worldview, such as the half-Human, half-Helghast spy Hakha. Whether this is Rico's greatest strength or greatest weakness remains to be seen. Since meeting Hakha in Killzone, he has attempted to execute the half-Helghast on multiple occasions, for multiple reasons, none of which passed under Jan Templar's command. Despite that, the two often make insulting jokes against one another, Hakha always snatching the last laugh with his undoubtably higher IQ, although at first it is violent argueing due to Rico's distrust of him. By the end of the game, Rico and Hakha seem to respect each other. As a Machine Gunner, Rico is very muscular, to the point of lower agility. He cannot build or climb like the others. However, he has the most constitution out of all the characters, capable of taking surprising amounts of damage. He is also the most proficient with heavy weaponry, and can carry more ammo for such weapons. Rico possesses great endurance and enormous physical strength: he has no trouble carrying an M224-A3 heavy support weapon, or withstanding the recoil from an M1 LMG Tyrant chain gun. Rico is often referred to as a 'human tank' by other ISA Regulars. He is depicted as the stereotypical hoodlum, and frequently uses street slang. Rico works well for Alpha team, and has a respect for Natko due to his experience, and Sev's skills, which remind him of Templar. During Killzone 2, he undergoes a change in his personality, slightly. He witnesses more atrocities on Helghan and so gains a greater hatred of the Helghast but spairs the life of the miner running the train. He deeply regrets it when he causes Garza's death from his upfront fighting tactic. He is sent over the edge when the New Sun is destroyed and Templar is killed. He is in despair when Templar is killed, to the point that he beats a man to near death for disrespecting Templar. When confronted by Visari, who is preaching his righteous ideologies, Rico loses it and all of the suffering and loss he has been through builds up, and so Rico kills the Helghast leader. Rico seems to show some regret for making a martyr out of him, but realizes that in the end, the tyrant needed to pay. Description Rico is 6' foot 1 with dark brown eyes and weighs 240 lbs. Rico has Latin and/or African-American origins. He has tanned skin and more Latin traits in Killzone and Killzone: Liberation, but in Killzone 2 he is noticeably darker and has a more African-American feel. In Killzone, Rico has short, spiked, black hair and looks quite young with some sharp facial features. He is also has a Latin accent. He wears a large ISA Regulars grey armour with a thick yellow rim around the neck piece. He carries a massive chain gun with a rocket launcher attached. He also gets a scar in the game which can still be seen on him during the rest of the series. In Killzone: Liberation, he is virtually the same except that his head is completely shaved and he carries a different kind of machine gun. In Killzone 2, he looks a lot older despite only being two years older. His hair has grown back a little and has 5 o'clock shadow. His skin is also darker and his accent has changed to more of an African-American style rather than a Latin one. He also wears a different, more worn out ISA outfit, with less protection and just armour padding on his torso and shoulders. He carries an M224-1A Light Machine Gun in this game which seems to be less powerful but more realistic than the other two machine guns. In Killzone 3, Rico has slimmed down noticeably, possibly due to stress from fighting the Helghast, as well as his hair and facial hair having grown as time has passed. He still retains his hate for the Helghast, and is still prone to aggressive and reckless behavior. His views clash with Captain Narville's constantly in this game, as Rico wants action, while Narville commands everyone to act defensively. Rico tries to disobey many of Narville's orders, only to have Sev calm him down and get him back into line. Narville resent Rico's impulsiveness because it led to him killing Visari without any authorization. Rico eventually lashes out at Narville, and the two engage in a small fistfight, that is broken up by Sev. Intel Health: 200 Weapons: M224-A1 LMG, Frag Grenade Trivia *In the E3 demo of Killzone 3, Rico appears to be much slimmer than in Killzone 2 likely due to the lack of food. *Rico is one of the very few characters who appear in all four games. *In Killzone and Killzone: Liberation, he is voiced by Tom Clarke Hill, but in Killzone 2 he is voiced by Charles Everett. *Rico's face was modeled by former Guerrilla Games artist, Nasier Abdoel. *His ISA serial number is 021-332-4130-55. *Although it is understood that canonically, Templar is the one who confronted Adams, it is possible for Rico to do it if the player is playing as him. *In a trailer Rico has the Guerrilla Games logo on his left shoulder. *Rico could be of Puerto Rican descent. Evidence is his name and surname, and the fact that "Arroz con Gandules" is a popular dish in Puerto Rico. pl:Rico Velasquez Category:Characters Category:ISA Category:Killzone 2